Note to her congressman paid off

Home-schooled sixth-grader going to Bush luncheon.

Home-schooled sixth-grader going to Bush luncheon.

February 22, 2006|IDA CHIPMAN Tribune Correspondent

PLYMOUTH -- Early in February, Cayla Hulse wrote to her congressman, Chris Chocola. She didn't beat around the bush, no pun intended. "I voted for you in 2002 as my mom and dad (Connie and Jim Hulse) always take me with them when they go to vote, and now," she wrote. "I want to come to your fund raising event at Bethel College so I can see President Bush and have lunch with him and you too!" Cayla, a home-schooled sixth-grader, explained why she couldn't afford a $500 ticket to the event. "I only get $12 a week for my allowance and I put $2 of that into the church's offering," she wrote. Cayla said in an interview that she would be happy to just come and sit at one of the tables. "I wouldn't have to eat," she said. She told Chocola how she was a Junior Missionary with Towers for Jesus, a company founded and developed by her parents. "I travel the world with my parents who build Christian radio stations, so that all may hear the words of the Lord." Cayla has had malaria. It flares up from time to time and "makes her whole brain hurt," she said. "Sometimes I have to spend a week at a time in bed," she wrote. "I have helped my mom bring new babies into the world in Africa; I have seen the DMZ zone NOTE in South Korea, the destruction of a hurricane while in Bonaire and I have seen what the love of the Lord can do for nations that have no hope." But she has not seen President Bush. "Both of you have daughters," she wrote, "and if one of your kids wanted help to see the President of the United States of America, you would do what you could to help them." And one more thing: Cayla asked for an answer soon. "Being a 12-year-old girl --soon to be a teenager -- means it will take me awhile to decide what to wear," she wrote. Cayla got the answer she wanted. She and her mother will attend the lunch as Chocola's guests. So, on Tuesday, she was trying to decide what to wear. "I am so thrilled," she said. "I have no idea what I will wear except that it will be a black skirt and a nice top." in South Korea, the destruction of a hurricane while in Bonaire and I have seen what the love of the Lord can do for nations that have no hope." But she has not seen President Bush. "Both of you have daughters," she wrote, "and if one of your kids wanted help to see the President of the United States of America, you would do what you could to help them." And one more thing: Cayla asked for an answer soon. "Being a 12-year-old girl -- soon to be a teenager -- means it will take me awhile to decide what to wear," she wrote. Cayla got the answer she wanted. She and her mother will attend the lunch as Chocola's guests. So, on Tuesday, she was trying to decide what to wear. "I am so thrilled," she said. "I have no idea what I will wear except that it will be a black skirt and a nice top."